The Righteous Mind
  • About The Author
    • Bio
    • Interviews & Lectures
    • Essays I’ve Written
    • Upcoming Talks
  • About the Book
    • Reviews
    • Endorsements
    • Introductory Chapter
    • Discussions of the Book
    • Figures/Notes/Refs
  • Buy The Book
  • Applying Moral Psych
    • Capitalism and Morality
    • Business Ethics
    • Viewpoint Diversity in the Academy
    • Coddling of the American Mind
    • For Teachers & Book Clubs
    • To Politics and Civility
    • In Business
    • In Religious Communities
    • In Therapy and Coaching
    • How You Can Help
  • Videos
  • Blog
Home » Posts made in June, 2016
Jun12 11

The politics of disgust animated for the age of Trump

Posted by Jonathan Haidt in 2016 US Presidential Campaign, Moral psychology research, Politics

How does disgust influence modern political behavior? I’ve been studying disgust as a moral emotion since I was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, working with Paul Rozin. It’s a fascinating emotion, lurking behind most of the divisive social issues in the American culture war, from abortion through flag burning, gay marriage, and now trans-gender bathroom access. My colleagues and I have found that social conservatives are higher on “disgust sensitivity” than are progressives and libertarians, and we’ve found that people’s scores on the “sanctity” foundation of the Moral Foundations Scale is a powerful predictor of their attitudes on many political issues, even after you partial out their self-placement on the left-right dimension.

The role of disgust in politics is especially important in 2016 as Donald Trump talks more about disgust than any major political figure since, well, some 20th century figures that were concerned about guarding the purity of their nation and ethnic stock. Studying disgust can help you understand Donald Trump and some portion of his political appeal. I haven’t studied European right-wing movements, but I’ve seen hints that disgust plays a role in many of them as well. Anyone interested in the psychology of authoritarianism should learn a bit about disgust.

In 2013 I gave a talk on the psychology of disgust and politics at the Museum of Sex, in New York City, hosted by Reason, so the audience was mostly composed of libertarians. An artist, Matthew Drake, has just taken a portion of that talk – on the evolution of disgust and its links to politics – and animated it using the RSA whiteboard technique. I think he did a great job; see for yourself below.

(Note that there is no sound for the first 28 seconds)

 

 

Read More

Recent Posts

  • Why The Righteous Mind may be the best common reading for incoming college students
  • How not to improve the moral ecology of campus
  • How the Democrats Can Use Moral Foundations Theory Against Trump
  • The politics of disgust animated for the age of Trump
  • Where political identities come from, in one cartoon

Archives

  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • July 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012

Subscribe

  • Entries RSS

© 2018 The Righteous Mind

© 2011 The Righteous Mind | Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress